You Promised
by KaiserinAstraia
Summary: Riku is more hurt from Xemnas's attack than he let on, and Sora must remind him wasting away into Darkness is not an option. Set in KH2 Ending, hijacked to include the Necklace Theory. 3rd person Riku POV.


**A/N: Hi! This is the product of a prompt my friend xxcentaurus over on Ao3 gave me. She gave me a Riku-hurt/Sora-comfort, and I gave her a "one of them is drunk" sort of prompt. Check it out on Ao3 if you are interested!**

 **ALSO this mentions the Necklace Theory which is heavily detailed on blowingoffsteam2 's blog on tumblr as well. Check out her blog for a lot of amazing kh theories as well as a lot of soriku theories/mentions!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

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 **~ You Promised ~**

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Riku didn't feel the shooting pain with each breath, the blood trickling down his side, or the ache in his muscles until they defeated every last Nobody, every last minion of Xemnas's army. And then, it hit so hard it knocked him to his knees.

Sora rushed to kneel at Riku's side, concern twisting his pretty features – it made Riku more nauseous than the wound did. "Riku!" he cried, but it was far away.

"Sora… I can't…" Riku hardly knew what he was saying, head spinning as the adrenaline fled his nerves like the swirl of a sink drain.

"Don't say another word!" Sora interjected, eyes scouring his body worriedly until they settled on his face, "It's not over. It's just not."

His words cut through the daze like a knife – it cut worse because Sora said it with the best intentions. Sora slid his arm under Riku's and across his back, trying to help him up, and it burned. He thought he saw stars when they managed to stand but he _had_ to be strong, had to hide the pain. He hadn't earned the care and worry that Sora gave out so willingly; he had to muscle it out.

Riku blinked back the vertigo, his stomach twisting like he'd be sick – but there was nothing in his stomach to puke anyway. "How can you say that?" he finally panted, masking his weakness with aggression, "Even if we could go on, look where we are." They were Nowhere. And Riku hated that he was so weak, burdening Sora.

"Aw, c'mon, Riku," Sora said, almost affectionately – Riku's heart twisted in his chest, "You've been hanging out in darkness too long." His eyes glittered with that endless hope he always had. "You gotta try and think positive!"

Riku shook his head. This, among many other reasons, was why Sora walked in light and welded the keyblade, while Riku worked in shadows. "Sora?" he asked, softly, eyes downcast.

"Hm?" Sora asked back, turning his eyes away from their wandering around them – trying to decide where they could go.

"You lead," Riku said, instead of suggesting he just leave him behind.

"Got it," Sora agreed, smiling sadly, then added, "Hey, I'm out of potions and magic right now but just… wait a little longer, okay? I'll heal you as soon as I can."

Riku winced. "It's fine," he ground out, ignoring the pulsating ache, and the sharp pain that accompanied every step they took, "I'm fine."

Sora glanced at him doubtfully, and Riku tried to keep his face blank, and his honest eyes to the side.

They walked for what felt like years, their progress hindered by _him_ , the useless weight on Sora's shoulder. If Sora was talking, he couldn't even hear it, his heart beat throbbing in his ears. It took everything he had just to withstand each step, each one a little more excruciating than the last. His shirt under his vest was stuck to him now, the blood still flowing.

A bright, white light flashed, and suddenly the Nothingness was gone, replaced with Dark. Dark sand, dark, empty skies, and a pale faceless moon reflecting on a calm, empty ocean.

"End of the road," Riku said, a rasp from his throat that seemed oddly detached from Riku himself.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. Riku said he could walk, at least he thought so, and Sora walked toward the shore. He couldn't hear Sora's voice anymore. Riku didn't know if it were possible, but the Darkness was getting darker, fuzzier. His head was spinning, unsure which was up and which was down. Still, he tried to step forward, to meet Sora where he was – he had to, or maybe he didn't? Did he really deserve to be at Sora's side? All Riku had done is right one wrong of many. He was able to save Sora against Xemnas right at the end, probably the only right thing Riku ever did.

He didn't really... feel himself fall. He only found himself on the cold, dark grey sand, and felt Sora shaking his shoulders, his voice like someone screaming underwater. He could hardly see, though the black sky made for a poor gauge of sight.

"This world is perfect for me," Riku thought, or said, could hardly feel his mouth moving but could feel the air struggling to articulate in his lungs even as he kept going, "If this is what the world really is...just this, then maybe I should fade back into darkness."

"Riku, what..." Sora bored into his eyes, blue eyes shining bright in panic, "What are you _saying_?"

Too much. He was saying too much. But despite the pain, he couldn't stop. "If the world is made of light and darkness... _I'll_ be the darkness, and you–"

"Stop," Sora hissed, brow furrowed in a fury Riku had only seen a few times in his life. Riku already wanted to take everything back, anything to make him stop looking at him like _that_. "You're hurt," he stated more simply, lips in a hard line.

Riku wanted to stop him, to keep him from investigating what was probably a gash deeper than any potion could cure; he could feel the blood still trickling down towards the floor, across his back. He wondered how much blood he lost; wondered at which point he would just pass out. He thought the pain would have done it already, and he could wake up to Sora gone and that'd be that. But fate wasn't kind to traitors. He couldn't even reply to Sora.

He saw Sora try to cast magic, small green tendrils of light trying to emerge from the tip of his keyblade; but that's all they were, tendrils. He still had no magic. "Shit," he heard Sora mutter.

"'S fine," Riku mumbled, "Don't… waste it." Through his slitted eyes he could see the black nothingness that was the sky, and Sora's frown deep and angry.

"Waste it? What are you talking about? You're hurt," Sora reiterated. "I thought… Just how bad is it?" Sora demanded to know.

Riku didn't want him to know, but had no strength or means to stop him. Sora swat Riku's hand away that clasped to his wrist, tugging his black, blood-soaked shirt up.

And he gasped, eyes widening to the size of saucers. "Riku! What the f–" He couldn't take his eyes off of it, and Riku was just struggling to remain awake. "Riku, this is _bad_ , why didn't you say anything?"

Because, what was the point? Sora was safe… That was all that…

"Why didn't you _heal_ yourself?" Sora continued, voice sharp and furious and panicked and distraught. His eyes were shining, welling up at the sides and Riku thought about earlier, when Sora fell to his _knees_ for him. No, that wasn't what he wanted...

"Hey, hey," Riku said, a half-delirious mumble, "It's okay, because you're safe and you're going to go home – to the Light."

"And what about _you_?" Sora screeched, his hand a death grip on Riku's arm. "Did you think – were you going to _stay_ here?"

He couldn't answer. Sora would hate it. And anyway, it was getting hard to stay awake. He didn't want to see Sora crying anymore. But his silence only made Sora more upset. He ripped through Riku's clothes, searching every pocket for a potion, anything. But there wasn't one, Riku had used them all earlier.

Tear stricken and warm, too warm, Sora pulled next to Riku's chest, peering straight down into his face. Somehow that made it harder to breathe than it already was, his face shadowed from the moonlight behind him made his face softer. Before Riku could try to say anything dumb, Sora jerked his crown necklace forward from his neck, dangling it right in front of Riku's nose.

"Listen, maybe you forgot but I didn't," Sora ground out, hard and angry. The necklace...? How could he forget? But Riku's blank expression pulled a sob from Sora's throat, and his gut twisted again. Hardly swallowing it, Sora continued, "You promised to protect me, Riku. You _promised_ , so why..."

Riku remembered the night of the meteor shower, how the blazing stars came so low on the horizon they looked like they'd crash right on them, plummet into the ocean so hard and fast it'd drown them all. And Sora was afraid.

 _"What if a shooting star hits the islands?" Sora cried, watching the sky with big, bright eyes._

 _"If a shooting star comes this way, I will protect you!" Riku had replied, determined and earnest and wanting nothing more than to see Sora's smile again. Some things never changed._

 _Sora turned his wondrous gaze to his friend, expression solemn. "…Promise?" Sora asked, voice small._

 _"Promise," Riku replied steadily._

 _In his pocket was a curious chain with a crown at the end, given to him by the tall, strong man who visited the island._ Strength to protect what matters, _it was. Smiling brightly, Riku took that chain out and took Sora's hand. "Here," he said, pressing it into his palm. Sora looked between him and it curiously, stray tears still marking his face. "So you don't forget our promise."_

 _And at last, Sora's smiled return, as bright and wide as it ever was. He inspected the chain; it was big and bulky in his hands, the crown covering even his fingers. But he held it up curiously, the crown dangling down in the middle. And he clasped it around his neck. It hung pretty low on his chest, but Riku beamed._

 _"I won't forget, Riku!" Sora said brightly, "That's a promise, too!"_

"Sora, you don't..." The words hung in his throat, the sentiment so low he felt close to death just thinking them, "You don't need me anymore." Xemnas was defeated. Sora was safe. He wanted to remake their promise, when Sora needed him while he slept, when Sora went world to world confused but sunny. But now?

Sora grabbed his hand, squeezing desperately."Don't you get it?" Sora asked, tears renewed. Both his hands gripped Riku's arm like he'd never let go. "I still need you, Riku. The only thing I'm afraid of is _losing_ you, so please…"

Even looking up at the starless sky, rivers of tears ran down from Riku's eyes and into his hair. Sora always knew exactly what to say. Maybe he was just saying it to make him feel better, or just didn't realize what a waste Riku was. But... he couldn't deny those teary eyes, his trembling lip.

"You won't... lose me," he said, soft. "I..." He tried to summon his keyblade, to cast a cure with the little magic he had left, but he hadn't the strength for even that.

Sora caught on immediately, his kingdom key materializing within an instant. He clasped it in Riku's hand and guided the tip toward the wound. "Let's cast it together," Sora mumbled, voice raw and muffled from crying.

Riku nodded, and said weakly, "Cura." It was the highest strength he could muster, with his and Sora's magic vestiges combined.

Miraculously, the tip of the keyblade burst with green energy, tendrils of life coursing out and into Riku's side. He glowed as it worked, and the pain ebbed exponentially with each moment, his flesh knitting back together. It didn't heal completely, a scab-like covering keeping him together. But the bleeding stopped, and Riku's head stopped spinning. His lungs released a sigh he didn't know he was holding.

And Sora gasped in relief, instantly diving down to embrace him. "You're an idiot," he said, fingers in Riku's hair, mumbling into the silver, "The other side… the realm of light is safe now. Kairi, the King, and the others are there."

Riku nodded, not sure where he was going, but Sora added, "And I'm not going, unless you are too."

The keyblade disappeared from Riku's hand and he desperately hugged back, hiding the tears overflowing into Sora's shoulder. "Okay," Riku agreed, so eager to give in to the wonderful thought, just for the moment, that maybe Sora really did want him around, after everything.

They pulled up together, Sora not letting go as Riku sat up. His side was still sore, and the shirt was unpleasantly sticking to his skin. "Hey, uh, Sora?" he asked, and Sora let go, wiping his eyes with his gloved hands. "Wanna go down to the water?" It was an olive branch request that Sora took, nodding.

Riku closed his eyes as they walked down. "At least the waves sound the same."

"Do you miss home?" Sora asked, voice serene.

"I… don't know," Riku said. He missed the islands that Sora, Riku, and Kairi played on as children, but he didn't miss the islands that were isolating, were fuel to jealousy and greed. But they were the same place, and he didn't have the words to define the line.

They sat side by side, Sora's hand near like it was ready to snatch Riku's at a moment's notice. "I think…" Sora began, hesitantly. He was looking away. "I wish that I could show you all the worlds I saw, when I was looking for you. Before we went home."

"Why?"

He was silent, and Riku almost asked again before he spoke, giggling weakly, "So you see just how far I had to go to finally see you."

"I told you, I didn't want to be found," Riku reiterated, guilt lining the statement like an aftertaste.

"Exactly, so you have to meet everyone, so they'll know what you look like." He said it like a threat, but his smile was innocently bright.

And not too long after, Riku found the bottle, with Kairi's letter. The door to light magically, fantastically appeared, and Sora stood in excitement. Until he looked down at Riku, still stunned by the brightness, by the impossibility. Sora gave him a sad, but reassuring grin, outstretching his hand: "We'll go together." It was a demand, a request, and a comfort.

"Yeah," Riku agreed, using his shaky legs to stand. They walked through the light together, the sound of more familiar waves overcoming their eyes coupled with an island breeze unmistakable.

They were home.

Days glided by; a flurry of reunions for everyone. Though it was easiest for Riku; his father was not an emotional man since Riku's mother died. Hiding the bandages on his side, they hugged, and his dad said that his door was always open to him. It was funny in its own way; everything began and ended with open doors, for Riku.

Sora was busier. His mom was absolutely overjoyed, furious, and despondent that her son had come home; at least, that's what Kairi told him. Riku hadn't the courage to face Sora's mom yet. He wanted to talk to Sora first, but was patient for the savior of worlds to make his rounds.

So there Riku sat, at the beach, toes in the wet sand, the waves threatening to wash it off. It was weird to see his own body again, wearing clean, airy clothes; his pale legs, and pale arms, riddled with scars and likely to be sunburned before the week was out. He'd welcome it. His long silver hair was tied back thanks to Kairi, and her promise that she would be willing to cut it for him anytime, as he had asked.

That was where Sora found him, and plopped down right next to him, eerily silent. It was a strange deja vu, sitting together on another beach. Instead of scratched up and exhausted, Sora had a bright yellow bandaid on his cheek. Instead of war-torn battle gear, he too was in shorts and a t-shirt, barefoot and washed hair easily swaying in the breeze. God, how he'd missed Sora being lazy by the beach.

But his expression was dark, solemn. He eventually spoke, looking out over the water. "I've been thinking… about what happened in the dark realm. And I've decided that I'm still mad at you."

Riku winced by natural instinct. He knew they would have to talk about it again – felt it the moment they stepped through and the waves crashed on them so hard, for a brief moment he thought they'd get swept away. Riku nodded, accepting Sora's anger. It was the least he could do.

"I'm mad because…" Sora turned, staring at him, "I was so _scared_. I thought you were gonna–" He took a breath. "Getting hurt, I get that, like… it happens. But _this_ …" His hand covered Riku's in the sand. "What do I have to do to convince you to stay with me?"

Sora was in his face again, blue eyes reflecting the clouds in the sky and shining and taking Riku's breath away like they always did. He found his courage in them. "I'm sorry," Riku said in one breath, voice low and sincere in its shame. "I didn't realize that it hurt you, too." Sora gazed back, amazed and hopeful. Riku pushed through his nervousness, and continued, "You… mentioned the promise. I want– I want to be someone you can rely on. So, I'm sorry. I won't make you worry anymore."

And Sora was crying again, but his lips cracked into a sweet smile. "You… you mean it?" His free hand went to the crown pendant, fingers touching it gingerly, like it was precious. Riku's heart fluttered painfully.

"Yes," Riku said, "I'm really so–"

"Then I forgive you," Sora said, pulling himself to Riku's shoulder, hiding his face in the crook of his neck. Riku felt terrible, that their last three interactions all resulted in Sora crying. But his heart pounded in his chest that Sora was _here_ and hugging him. Unsure what to do he placed a tentative hand on his back, amazed how sturdy Sora was, all the while having such a small frame. But before he could say anything, Sora tilted his head up and slowly kissed Riku's cheek.

Riku froze, unable to believe even for a second that happened. The spot on his face burned where his lips touched, but it made the rest of him bristle with _warmth_ , distinctly light and Sora.

"And that's my promise; I'll protect you, too, Riku," Sora said, quiet but determined.

Riku took in Sora's nervous, blushing cheeks, his daring frown as if to say " _just try to argue_ " and Riku couldn't help it; he released the breath he had been holding, lips upturning as he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. "You're a dork," was the dumb thing that fell out of his mouth.

Sora pushed his shoulder, careful of his wounded side. "You're one to talk!" He giggled, face still pink. Riku let him stay leaned against his shoulder, every second that Sora stayed another reminder he chose to be there, and that Riku just had to let him.

"Maybe," he replied. He tilted his head to rest on Sora's, looking out over the endless sea, knowing just how many infinite worlds awaited them past it. "You should show me your favorite worlds – next time."

He felt Sora's enthusiastic nod ruffle his hair. "It's a deal!"

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 **A/N:** I realized that I write Sora one (1) way and I just... can't stop lol.

If you liked this, please leave a comment, it makes my day! :D If you want to scream at me _more_ , I'm on tumblr as kaiserin-astraia or astraia-writes. Thanks for reading!


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